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WEST AFRICA
IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 218
6 - 12 March 2004


CONTENTS:

COTE D'IVOIRE: US deplores political impasse
EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Alleged mercenaries arrested
GUINEA-BISSAU: Yala released from house arrest
NIGERIA: Kano State to order polio vaccines
NIGERIA: Obasanjo meets police chief over political killings
LIBERIA: Over 500,000 children immunised since September


COTE D'IVOIRE: US deplores political impasse

A statement by the United States expressing deep concern over the
political impasse in Cote d'Ivoire capped an eventful week in the West
African nation. In a statement issued on Thursday by the US Embassy in
Abidjan, the Ivorian economic capital, Washington called on all political
forces to work together in the interest of the Ivorian people and reminded
President Laurent Gbagbo that he was responsible for peace in the West
African country.

The statement came about a week after the Democratic Party of Cote
d'Ivoire (PDCI) suspended its participation in the national reconciliation
government. The PDCI accused Gbagbo of plotting against it, undermining
its authority, humiliating party leader Henri Konan Bedie and sabotaging
peace efforts.

On Sunday, five of the seven other political forces in the government came
out in favour of the PDCI's move. These parties, along with the PDCI
planned to stage a public demonstration against what they described as the
malfunctioning of the government. However, on Thursday, Gbagbo banned all
demonstrations until the end of April.

The US statement called for respect for the rule of law and the right of
assembly, along with an end to the impunity "enjoyed by some groups".

On Tuesday, student leaders and 'Young Patriots" - a coalition of mostly
informal associations that support Gbagbo - had invaded the main
courthouse in Abidjan, blocking the swearing-in of new judges. Two judges
were seriously wounded, as were some journalists. Media sources said the
security forces did nothing to prevent the violence.

The judges were eventually sworn in on Wednesday. On Thursday, the
national association of judges launched an indefinite strike to press for
respect and protection.

The "Young Patriots" were involved in a second incident on Wednesday, when
they stormed a hotel where rebel representatives have been staying with a
view to evicting them. On that occasion, however, they were dispersed by
the police.

At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Gbagbo ordered the re-establishment of
security checkpoints throughout Abidjan. He said insecurity was on the
rise since the dismantling last last year of most of the checkpoints,
manned by police and gendarmes.


EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Alleged mercenaries arrested

The government of Equatorial Guinea announced on Tuesday that it had
arrested 15 men it described as part of a group of mercenaries who
intended to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. It said the
detainees were an advance party and that the rest of the group included 67
men arrested on Sunday in Zimbabwe after the Boeing 727-100 on which they
were travelling landed there.

The purported leader of the group detained in Equatorial Guinea, a South
African by the name of Nick du Toit, said on national television in the
capital, Malabo, that they had aimed to overthrow the government. He said
they were working for opposition leader Severo Moto, who heads a
self-styled government-in-exile in Spain. Moto has denied involvement in
the alleged plot to overthrow Obiang, who called on the Spainish
government to extradite the opposition leader.



GUINEA-BISSAU: Yala released from house arrest

Guinea-Bissau's former president Kumba Yala, was released on Monday after
spending close to six months under house arrest following his ouster by
the military on 14 September 2003.

Yala's release came three weeks before legislative elections to be held on
28 March. Soon after his release, Yala announced in an interview with
Portuguese radio that he would return to active politics. His announcement
came as a surprise since a charter that replaces the constitution during
the country's political transition bars him from active politics over the
next five years.

Fifteen parties are to participate in the legislative election.


NIGERIA: Kano State to order polio vaccines

One of the states in Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north that have
rejected polio vaccinations on suspicion that they are part of a Western
plot to reduce their population plans to order its own vaccines from
Muslim countries in Asia.

Kano State spokesman Sule Ya'u Sule told reporters this week that the
state, one of 12 that have adopted the Shariah (Islamic law) was
negotiating the purchase of vaccines with Indonesia, Malaysia and
Pakistan.

In October 2003, Kano State stopped the vaccination of children against
polio, claiming that the vaccines were contaminated with anti-fertility
agents and the HIV virus. Another northern state, Zamfara, has also
refused to allow vaccinations. Two other states that had done so last
month - Bauchi and Niger - have since come back on their decision.

Since October, eight West and Central African countries which had been
declared polio-free have been reinfected with strains which the World
Health Organization has traced back to Kano.


NIGERIA: AIDS treatment resumes as depleted drug stocks replaced

Nigeria's programme of subsidised antiretroviral treatment, interrupted
since September last year by drug shortages, has resumed with the arrival
of emergency supplies ordered by the government, health officials said on
Friday.

Health Ministry spokesman Ayo Osinlu said drugs worth 500 million naira
[about US $3.8 million] ordered by the government in January began
arriving in Nigeria two weeks ago. He said that the 25 special health
institutions established across the country for the treatment of 10,000
adults and 5,000 children living with HIV had begun receiving the drugs.


NIGERIA: Obasanjo meets police chief over political killings

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo met police chiefs on Monday to
discuss measures to improve security ahead of local government elections
late this month, following a spate of attacks, some of them fatal, on
politicians and state officials.

The meeting came one day after Philip Olorunnipa, head of the electoral
commission of Kogi State, was shot dead in his home.

Last week, unknown gunmen killed two persons when they fired on the
motorcade of the governor of the central state of Benue, who escaped
unhurt, while a similar attack was made against a convoy of vehicles
linked to Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu. Tinubu himself was not in the
convoy.

Meanwhile, the December 2002 murder of former justice minister Bola Ige in
the southwestern city of Ibadan has still not been solved.


LIBERIA: Over 500,000 children immunized since September

Over 500,000 children aged between six months and 15 years have been
immunised against measles since September 2003 in three central Liberian
counties, Margibi, Bong and Montserrado (which includes the capital,
Monrovia), Save The Children UK (SCF-UK) reported this week.

The vaccinations were carried out by SCF-UK in collaboration with the
Liberian Ministry of Health teams with vaccines provided by the UN
Children's Fund.

SCF said the immunisation campaign had been carried out in response to
measles outbreaks in many parts of the country. It said inadequate
security in other parts of the country had prevented it from reaching some
areas, but that it planned to extend its measles vaccination campaign over
the next few months.


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